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(under the editorship of Arnold S. Menke)
When I started Sphecos in 1979 I thought a newsletter on aculeate wasps would kindle better communication among wasp workers of the world, and keep each of us aware of what others were doing, thereby promoting help and cooperation as much as possible. Judging by the comments I continually receive from readers, I think these goals have been fully realized. Sphecos is eagerly read by many. Thus, this is a very sad day for me.
Why am I stepping down? There are several reasons. When I retire September 30, Nancy and I will move to Bisbee, Arizona, where we purchased a home two years ago. I will no longer have access to the library facilities of the Smithsonian. Thus, keeping up with current literature will not be easy. Also, I will no longer have use of free mailing of Sphecos by my employer, the USDA (I estimate that it costs the USDA about $1000 to mail 630 copies of one issue). Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, the first year of my retirement Nancy and I will be very busy getting settled in our new home. We will have many things to do. Conceivably I could work with a new editor by continuing to receive material submitted for inclusion in the newsletter, and keep it organized. But beyond that, I will be too busy to do more.
Some of you will say, why can't Terry Nuhn take over? Terry is a technician and he works part time for 5 different scientists. When I retire, Terry's work schedule will be reorganized to give the 4 remaining people more of his time. He will not be in a position to do anything with Sphecos, as much as he might like to.
Ideally the editor should be affiliated with an institution with a good library because keeping up with current literature is a vital part of Sphecos. Without access to current publications in entomology, an editor would have a difficult time compiling lists of current literature. I suppose the editorship could be a joint effort by two people, one of whom had library access. Such partnerships are already in place for some of our sister newsletters in Hymenoptera. Let's hope that someone will volunteer to keep Sphecos alive.
Paying for reproduction of the newsletter no longer seems to be a problem. Issue 29 depleted all of our Sphecos money, although, since last August, a total of $2400 has been donated by various readers, some of whom have been very generous. Issue 30 will have used up at least a third of this money, so if someone does offer to take over the editorship, they will have some funds available for future issues, as well as mailing costs, if not covered by their institution.
I am proud of Sphecos and it has been a rewarding 17 years. Terry Nuhn has been my right hand man for many of those years, and without his computer prowess and expertise, Sphecos would have had a different look. He singlehandedly upgraded the newsletter in 1989 when issue 18 appeared. The 3-column format gave Sphecos a much more professional look. I can't thank Terry enough for all the help he has given me during my editorship. And a lot of thanks go out to all of you who have helped give Sphecos that special something that made it informative, insightful, historical, histerical, argumentative, and generally entertaining. We have had a good run, haven't we!
the Mud D'aub
Plea for Literature from Menke
As indicated above, I will no longer have access to current literature. I will be wholly dependent upon all my friends in the scientific community to keep me informed of what they are doing. Thus, I hope all of you will continue to send me reprints of your papers! I plan to continue my research in Arizona and want to keep up with what is going on in the wasp world. Please note my new address:
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Farewell from the Mud D'aub |
Menke's new address
You are Welcome!
Our house in southeastern Arizona sits on four acres of high desert (5200') with the Mule Mountains just behind us. Southern Arizona is a wonderful area for wasp collecting and many prime locations are only minutes away by car. When planning trips to Arizona, please keep us in mind. We have a spare bedroom, and you would be most welcome. We also have a beautiful view of nearby Mexico with various isolated mountains in the distance, and sunrises and sunsets are gorgeous. We call the place "Menke's Tarantula Ranch" or "Ammophila Acres". We have yet to settle on one of these names for our place, although we are leaning toward the second alternative for obvious reasons.One major activity that will occupy our first year in Bisbee is the construction of what Nancy calls our "hobby house" or the Ammophila Research Institute. This will be a combination wasp research lab, railroad history center complete with darkroom, and a potter's shed (for Nancy who plans on resuming her love of pottery building). Initially I will be working on and completing my revision of the New World Ammophila, but other research projects are contemplated.
The Sphecos Reproduction Fund
With the hope that a new editor for Sphecos will come forward, Nancy will maintain the Sphecos fund bank account for the near future. Should the unthinkable happen, i.e., no more Sphecos, we will return the remaining funds to those persons who donated money beginning in August 1995. We have kept records of who these people are and how much they donated. The remaining money would be parceled out to these people according to the percentage of their donation.I will also continue to compile material that people may send to me for Sphecos on the assumption that a new editor will materialize.
Recent Donators to the Sphecos Fund:
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Karl Krombein Jim Carpenter Don Manley Mike Ohl Volker Mauss Gary Gibson Justin Schmidt Donald Quicke Gabriel Melo Denis Brothers Marius Wasbauer John Heraty Rogério Martins Mike Edwards Christoph Saure Stuart Fullerton George Steyskal Bill Barr |
Howell Daly John Heppner Ken Cooper Jane Brockmann Gordon Snelling Tom Zavortink Miles Guralnick (Vespa Laboratories, Inc.) Allan Hook Bob Jacobsen John Moser Jon Seger Michael Kuhlmann Laurene Foye James Hunt L. Castro Monica Russo |
Roy Snelling Howard Evans Jay Rosenheim Raymond Wahis Helen Court Robert Longair Gerald Legg Jacques Bitsch James Gillaspy Laurel Hansen Martin Cooper Eric Eaton Michael Archer Robin Edwards Yvan Barbier Nancy Elliott Peter Yeo |
Hans-Ulrich Thomas Haroldo Toro Elizabeth Chiappa Carlos Sarmiento Michael Gallagher Helmut Dörfler R. T. Simon Thomas H. Wiering Will Whitcomb Manfred Verhaagh Charlotte Gantz Hirohiko Nagase Seiki Yamane Jacques Hamon Hans Jacobs Raymond Henson Heinrich Wolf |
Thoughts on Sphecos
I have been involved in the production of Sphecos since issue 8 – that's twelve years ago! In the intervening years I feel like I've become part of the aculeate wasp community, even though my own research interests involve ants. I have been proud to serve with Sphecos, helping to bring together aculeate workers with the news, e-mail addresses and other items we have published. I've had the opportunity to meet some of you or to make friends over the Internet. Without Sphecos, I won't be able to keep up with most of you anymore, and I think that many of our readers may feel a bit more isolated without us. I hope someone revives Sphecos and carries on our work. And maybe if they do, they can send me a copy.Terry Nuhn, Assistant editor
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